A Slenderman Christmas
by potosw
Summary: This story was swimming around my head for a while, so I wrote it. Ellaina is a young college professor who is on Christmas break. She is a game designer who has created a Slenderman game. Slendy is less than thrilled. Leave a review if you'd like. :)
1. Chapter 1

_So, what do you do when someone is always watching you? What do you do when someone is always following you, never allowing you one moment of peace, of being alone? If you know the answers, I suggest that you use them. It would certainly be useful, for it could save more than one life-it is now your own and all of those around you whose lives are at risk now, my Little One. Now, wouldn't you like that? Wouldn't you like to save your pathetic little friends and to ensure your own safety and continue your pitiful existence? If I could only care, perhaps I would. Sadly, I don't. I will always be watching._

_-der Ritter _

Ellaina stared down at the passage she had just written. What a perfect little paragraph for her ongoing video game. It certainly was rewarding watching people play it online and find these lovely little _notes _that were usually either hints or something that could lead to their character's untimely death. The passage above was just that, a Death Note. She had to roll her eyes when the thought of a random anime popped up into her head. Even in college as a game designer, she could not escape the stupidity of her youth-that being the one filled with friends who adored anime to no end while she was the one to be kind and listen to their prattle while she secretly preferred horror movies or even sci-fi. Oh well, no need to live in the past. No, thinking of the past would only bring up those bad memories of when she had lost one of one of her anime-loving friends to a horrible fire. Little Ellaina had escaped with her life, somehow, but the trauma of seeing her friend's dead body had forever scarred her.

Shaking her head in an attempt to banish the precarious ways her thoughts were leading her, Ellaina entered her small class of twenty-some students. Yes, she taught them in her skills. It was fun for her to teach, plus the pay was pretty good. Her video game made her side money for fun. Here, though, she had to teach the young college kids what game design was all about. Well, she had taught them some lessons. Now it was time for an "oh-so-wonderful" exam, as she called it. The students never feared for her exams, so long as they had taken notes from the lectures and the Power Point presentations. Her exams were more or less word-for-word from her presentations.

As she slowly wandered the room, pretending as if she cared if the students cheated or not, she happened to glance out the window. There, standing just under a light post, was a man. A very tall man to be precise. Ellaina nearly laughed. So, one of her former students was trying to play a little _Slendy _prank, eh? Well, being a master of horror, she certainly wasn't about to let some imposter strike fear into her. Everyone knew that der Ritter was simply a meme. It would be quite entertaining if the thing was real. Her video game would have so many more hits. Looking outside again, there was no one there, only a driving rain that seemed to have come from nowhere. Well, Ellaina certainly had some more inspiration for her video game now. Plenty of thunder from a storm would cause her players to be a bit more than frightened.

With the students focused on their exams and Ellaina now furiously working at her computer to program rain and thunder into her game, no one noticed the Tall Man dressed in black suit standing in the darkest corner of the room. No one noticed his passive observance of the instructor of _Introduction to Program Design_ who dared to call herself _der Ritter_, who believed him to be nothing more than a simple creation of the Internet. Well, that mindset would change soon enough. That thought in mind the man in the black suit disappeared to wait and to watch. For he was always watching and always willing to follow someone to the ends of the Earth if it meant satisfying his wants and desires. He was the Master, the One with no face. He needed no one and only needed to rid the world of pathetic pests like the one who dared to use his name. He _was _der Ritter. He is _Slenderman. _


	2. Chapter 2

_You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, for I'm telling you why. Slenderman is coming for you….Turn around and prepare for your Christmas Gift, Little One. Now don't keep me waiting, that would be rude and I am certain you will love my gift. It is to die for._

-der Ritter

A Christmas note seemed to be suitable, Ellaina thought, considering that it was nearly that day of the year again. In only a few weeks, little kids would be waking up to a visit from Santa. Meanwhile, the players of her game could enjoy an early gift from the nice Slendy. Now she only had to decide what the gift would be. She decided on a floating twenty dollar bill. Once grabbed from the air, Mr. Slendy would show up, followed by that random $20 song and the player would lose the game. Maybe she would make Slendy wear a Santa hat just to be in the spirit of Christmas. She already had a blizzard going on the map, with the character having to collect things like stockings, presents, and even a Times Square Worthy Christmas Tree. Ellaina had to wonder where someone walking through the maze that was der Ritter's house would carry that large of a tree. It had to be their back pocket. It was the only plausible explanation.

Satisfied with her designs for the moment, Ellaina decided that it was time to go out and cut down the perfect Christmas tree. Ever since she was a small child, she had wanted to have a real, live tree. Now that she was living on her own, she could make her own decisions about such things, and she had promised herself that as soon as the first week of December started that she would go out and cut down her very own tree. It had to be something of a decent size so she could fit all of her ornaments onto it. Not to mention that her friends had decided that they would be spending the holiday with her. She couldn't very well have them show up on Christmas Day and find some pathetic little thing of a tree standing in her family room. That would be lame, as they would say.

Now in her backyard, she made her way to the chain link fence to quickly hop it and head into the forest. It was quite convenient that there was one just outside of her home. At least she wouldn't have to figure out how to tie the tree to her car and drive home with it. Nope, she'd just have to somehow drag it back to her home. The real problem was finding the perfect tree. She wanted it to be a moment where the sky opened up and the sun would shine down on the tree, much like in the movie, _Christmas Vacation. _She would really have to watch it when she got home, but for now she would settle for listening to Christmas music on her iPod while on her epic journey to find her tree.

Ellaina quietly began to hum along to her music, not even realizing that she was being watched, but this wasn't the One that had been watching her since the start of autumn and now into winter. No, this being was far more human, though it did hold some malicious intent for the woman who was far too busy looking at her just-discovered perfect tree to know that someone had quite ill intent for her.

The man made his move and tackled the woman into the snow, her ankle snapping as it became tangled in an uprooted root from her Christmas tree. She cried out in pain both from the man landing with his full weight on top of her and her broken ankle. It was now 90 degrees from where it ought to be. Ellaina wasn't even considering the man atop her until she felt him punch her across the face, demanding that she look at him as he killed her. A knife was held to her throat while the man laughed with a crazed look in his eyes. Death by a Crazy certainly hadn't been the way that she had planned to go. No, she thought that she would end up dying by the hand of some sort of cryptid that she had somehow insulted in her video games. It wasn't like _Slendy: Try to Survive _was the only game she had created. Nope, Mothman had his own game along with the Jersey Devil and the Dover Daemon.

So, when the man was violently thrown from her person, Ellaina was somewhat surprised. Who was out here, and what sort of man had the strength to so easily pull a somewhat heavy set man off the ground and fling them so violently into a tree that the impact caused instant death? As she looked up to meet the eyes of her savior and thank him (maybe even invite him for of hot chocolate), Ellaina was met with a blank face, rather _no _face. Her savior? None other than der Ritter.

"Well, I suppose that this is the point where you expect me to scream, cry, and beg for you not to kill me?" Ellaina asked, looking quite bored. This had to be one of her former students who she had scared with one of her video games. It wasn't like students had tried this before on her. Though, this seemed to be one of the best outfits that she had seen. All of the descriptions of what the creature looked like seemed to be on point with this Slendy.

She forced herself onto one foot, keeping all weight off of the other one. She quickly lost balance, only for a tendril of something from the One in front of her keeping her upright. Well, more so, it holding her and raising her up to his eye level-where the eyes should have been. This certainly was a feat for a student to pull off. Ellaina was becoming more confused as the thing simply held her at his eye level, at his height. _It has to be a mask_, she thought. Tentatively, she reached a hand out to touch the face, or lack thereof, of the one in front of her. Another tendril reached out and grabbed her hand, while another cut down her Christmas tree.

_You will be going home now, my Little One_, a voice suddenly came into her head. Well, her students certainly couldn't do that! It seemed to smirk at her, even with its lack of a face. _Ah, so you finally come to your senses, Little One. And, I am not an it, as you are more than well-aware. Now, I will take you back to your home. You will have your Christ-Mass tree as you wished._

"Christmas," Ellaina quietly corrected, while _he _began walking them back to her home. Had she really wandered this far into the woods? And why was he keeping her alive?

_What? _He questioned, sounding somewhat irritated with being corrected.

What an odd conversation. "Christmas. It's pronounced Chris miss. The't' is silent and the 'mas' sounds more like miss," Ellaina explained. She absentmindedly swatted a bug off of the tendril that was tightly wrapped around her waist. That made him stop walking to stare at her. "There was a bug nomming on you. And, I suppose I owe you a thank you?"

_Do not speak of it, Human, _came the quick reply. He stopped just outside of her chain link fence. He placed the tree on the other side of it and easily got the both of them over it. _Why exactly do you humans need a tree to celebrate a holiday? _

"It's an old tradition," she replied, as she was sat into the snow just outside the back door to her home. Ellaina simply looked between the tree and this _being _in front of her. He wanted her to explain what a Christmas tree was? Had he never had a Christmas? She highly doubted it considering that he was simply a monster that killed people just for the fun of it. Still, she continued on, feeling like she was giving a lecture to her students, "We decorate the tree and sort of make it the center of our interior decorations. Humans tend to put lights on the tree, ornaments, tinsel; you know, stuff to make it look pretty. Then, we put gifts under the tree and Santa comes to add his own gifts for the good little boys and girls."

_How very fascinating, _he replied, seeming to be uninterested. He seemed to glance around her home, sensing that something was amiss. Throwing the thought away that he was simply having too much fun with his prey, he turned back to the woman, who was watching him ever so closely as if waiting for him to deliver the death blow. Her thoughts conveyed as much. _You need not worry, Little One; I will kill you in time. For now, enjoy your Christmas and know that I am always watching._ With that, he disappeared.

"What a nice guy," Ellaina muttered to herself. "He saves me from being murdered only to promise me that he will later kill me." Though, what had just happened gave her wonderful ideas for her Slendy video game. A scare from der Ritter himself certainly wasn't about to put her off from continuing with her just-for-fun livelihood. Now the only problem was somehow getting herself and the tree inside with a broken ankle. Sighing, and going to stand up, she noticed that the ankle was no longer broken-it was perfectly fine, as if it had never been damaged. Her confusion quickly faded when she found a _note _attached to her now mended ankle.

_You're welcome, Human._ There was no signature.


	3. Chapter 3

_Welcome to my woods. Come; find your perfect Christmas tree. You need only venture some few miles into my domain to collect it. Your tree is what you are in this forest for in the first place. Find it and get away. Perhaps I will allow you to live. I may even save you from the other being in these woods that plans on killing you just for the fun of it. He is far more human, but he could be considered dangerous to your health Human. Turn around and fight. You wouldn't want to die to a simple human would you? You don't want my life to be boring, do you? Fight for your life, consider it your Christmas present to me._

Ellaina had just finished with her new note for the game. It was half a helpful note and half a death note. Again, the thought of anime popped into her head. Shaking her head that her childhood could still control her so, she headed into the kitchen to make herself some hot chocolate to have when she decorated the Christmas tree. As she finished with her drink and went to head into the family room to finish stringing the lights onto the tree, she bumped into something that was quite solid. She looked up into glaring red eyes and rows of needle-like teeth. Well, this certainly wasn't the kind of guest she had been expecting. She jumped away from the thing as it took a swipe at her with its deadly sharp claws. Sadly, her hot chocolate was lost to the that was gravity. The hot liquid did, however, manage to splash into the monster's face, effectively enraging it.

With the monster suddenly pinning her down to the kitchen floor, a shard of glass digging into the back of her arm, she had no choice but to stare into the red eyes of the monster that would soon be the death of her. And she had so been looking forward to celebrating Christmas with her friends and then having Slendy kill her. It was useless to beg this thing for mercy, which was now clawing into her shoulder making the blood flow. She resigned herself to her fate and simply closed her eyes. It couldn't be that much longer that the monster could take before it would kill her, could it?

With a sense of de je vu, she found the weight being ripped violently away from her body. She looked up in time to see her once-again savior dragging the monster outside. A loud crash could be heard. She looked through her window to see that the thing had been impaled on one of the top most branches of a tree. With that last sight in mind, she fell to the ground, weak due to the loss of blood. She could feel the warm embrace of Death coming to her, and she was more than willing to go to Him.

Then, suddenly, there was a voice in her head and the familiar touch of _something _wrapping its way around her waist to carry her somewhere. That voice in her head was harsh and demanding, _I did not allow you to live the last time we met only for you to end up dying on me, Human. Stay awake!_

Ellaina tried to focus on that voice, to locate where it was physically, but it was only in her head. She needed something to ground her, keep her in the world. She weakly reached her hand out, being met with that same _something _that was around her waist. It felt familiar. What was this? Who was the voice in her head? "I lost blood," she stated simply, hoping that the voice could give her that precious life source back.

_Yes, I know, Little One, _the voice replied. _I will tend to your injuries, but only if you swear to stay alive for me. You wouldn't want my life to get boring would you? _the voice answered.

"Little One?" she questioned. Who called her Little One? She knew somewhere in the back of her head who it was, but she just could not connect the voice in her head to the person. Then she had it. A voice in her head was calling her Little One and was carrying her around with _something_-the tendrils. Her vision suddenly came back into focus, finding herself on her couch in the family room with the Slenderman bent over her injured shoulder, seeming to be healing it in some unseen way. With a strange sort of wet sound, the wound closed itself, leaving behind a slight scar.

_I see that you have come back to me, _he stated, now looking at her while still being bent over her. He seemed to be studying her closely, as if looking for some sign that she would slip back into that state of near death again. He couldn't have that. He wasn't done observing her yet and he planned on being the one to end her life.

Ellaina should have been uncomfortable with his close proximity, but after facing down Death she wasn't so frightened any longer. Noticing her blood covering his face, she boldly wiped it away, not predicting the violent reaction that this would insight from der Ritter. She found herself pinned up against the wall, a far stretch from the couch. She had to wonder how in the name of God he could move so fast that she had no idea what had even happened to her.

_You do not touch me, Human, _he growled, his face-not a face?-located quite close to her own.

Every detail or lack thereof, was abundantly clear for Ellaina to observe. This would be most useful for her Slender game. Those "hard core" players would really be able to appreciate the detail she had put into the enemy of the game. Well, they would provide she survive.

_You're using this for ideas for that game of yours?! _he questioned loudly, sounding incredulous inside of her head. _Do you wish to die? I should kill you now, you pathetic flesh bag. Give me one good reason why I should allow you to continue living._

"Well, you said that you would let me live for Christmas," Ellaina replied, trying to squirm out of the vice-like grip he had on her that was keeping her pinned to the wall, again at his eye level. "And what is so bad about me making a game about you? There are plenty of other people that have created games on you. Why don't you go bother them? I never did anything to harm you."

He dropped her, effectively making her land on her butt. With his back turned to her, he had only a view of the partially decorated Christmas tree. There were lights all over the thing, but something seemed to be missing. _Don't you humans usually put something on top of the tree? _

Still rubbing her sore backside, Ellaina walked over to a box next to the tree and pulled out an angel and a star. Either could be put up on the top and both would light up. "Angel or star? You pick, you put it up there. In case you haven't noticed, you are slightly taller than me, so it would be easy to put it on top for you."

_Only slightly taller, my Little One? _he questioned, taking the star from her. He placed it on the top branch, only for it to bend and look lopsided. He seemed to glower at the tree limb, before trying to readjust the star so it could stand upright. It did for all of ten seconds before becoming lopsided again. He looked at the woman next to him, who was trying not to outright laugh, and then back at the tree. With a concerted effort, he jammed the star onto the branch. This time, it stayed standing upright. With what seemed to be an annoyed sigh, he turned to face the woman. _There, your tree is finished._

"Not quite, Slendy," she replied. She went into another room and returned with another box, which was labeled ornaments. She opened the box and pointed at the items inside. "Now these have to be added to the tree."

_Good luck with that, Human_, he replied and simply disappeared. Ellaina openly stared at the blank spot that was once where the Slenderman stood. She headed back to her laptop to begin working on her Christmas themed Slender game. She was most certainly going to include a scene where the player entered one of the rooms in Slendy's home only to find him decorating a Christmas tree. And she most certainly was going to include that little scene with the star that had played out today.

Those plans saved into her laptop, she went back into the kitchen to try once again to get some hot chocolate. Maybe this time a random monster wouldn't try to kill her. This time, she was luckier. She managed to get the beverage made and enter her family room once again. She planned on spending the day decorating her tree. It had to look nice for when her friends would show up, not to mention for Slendy. With him showing up constantly, she couldn't very well let his first observed Christmas tree look ugly. That thought in mind, she set to work.

Ellaina wouldn't notice the noteattached to her laptop until much later in the evening.

_Must you make it a Christmas theme? You are making me out to be a fool. Perhaps I will need to kill you sooner than I thought if only to preserve my reputation. Consider revising. _Again, there was no signature as to who had left the note, but it didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out who had likely left such a note.


	4. Chapter 4

_It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go. Yes, even this place has been invaded by the Christmas Spirit, something that I am none too thrilled about. I blame it on humanity, so in a sense I blame it on you, Human. You best watch yourself, for I am always following. Let me catch you, and you will suffer the consequences of making my home filled with the holiday season._

Thinking that she had made a note that one certain Ritter would approve of, Ellaina entered the note into the program. Yes, she had included Slendy decorating a tree, but if the player stumbled upon the scene, it led to an instant death that was quite frightening. And speaking of trees, her own tree was nearly finished. All that was left was to add the tinsel. Sadly, though, this was the part that she enjoyed the least, for it was so boring. Putting the ornaments on required at least some form of creativity so everything would look nice. The job she had now only involved randomly placing the stuff onto any branches she liked.

_Having fun? _a voice suddenly asked in her head.

Ellaina jumped back, the tinsel flying from her hands and effectively covering the _guest _who had shown up. She laughed at the sight it created. "Well, don't you look pretty?"

_Handsome, my Little One, _he corrected, removing the offending material from his person and handing it back to the woman. He looked to her tree. _It looks nice._

"I guess so," she replied, as she began to put the shining stuff all over the tree. She stepped up onto a stool to reach the top most branches. "So, what brings you here? I would expect you to be off in the woods hunting some small child or moody teenager."

_Not today, _he replied. Watching her lose her balance and fall to her butt was rather entertaining for him. She openly glared at him as she went to once again pick up the tinsel. _Why glare at me, Human? I did not cause you to fall._

Ellaina was about to retort when her cell phone started going off, signaling that someone was calling her. The ringtone was set to a Christmas song, of course. Even her cell had to be in the holiday spirit. Answering, she heard one of her friend's voices, Anne, on the other end. Anne explained that she and the others weren't going to make it to the little get-together that had been planned. Apparently, the three had decided that they wanted to go boating. They knew that Ellaina hated to be out in the open ocean, so it seemed like they had simply not wanted her involved at all. With a defeated sigh, Ellaina hung up the phone and threw it across the room, only for it to land at Slendy's feet.

_You are upset, Human, _he stated blandly.

"They aren't coming. I'll be alone once again for the holiday season. They do this every year. Why didn't I see this coming?" Ellaina replied, not caring if her guest actually gave two hoots about what she was saying or not. He likely didn't, considering that he simply planned to kill her once the holiday was over and done with. She glared at the Christmas tree, pulling out a lighter, intending on setting the thing ablaze.

The lighter was pulled from her hand before she had the chance to so much as take two steps towards her tree, though she did manage to burn him as he ripped it away from her. Ellaina glared at her guest, seeing the lighter being held in one of his tendrils, just out of her reach. Growling, she jumped for it over and over again, only for him to always pull it just out of her reach.

"Give it back, you-you-" she shouted, trying to find some sort of insult to throw at him. She couldn't come up with anything, so she simply gave up and sat down on the couch. Looking at the discarded tinsel on the ground, she kicked the lump of the stuff, only for it to land in the tree.

_Beautiful, _Slendy commented, while taking a seat next to her. _Now this tree of yours looks wonderful. _Since when did he try to cheer humans up? He had no answer for this question. Clearly this human was becoming a problem. He'd have to deal with her soon. Still, he had promised to allow her to have her Christmas.

"It looks like the tinsel fairy pooped on it with that big glob of tinsel," Ellaina replied, not even bothering to look at der Ritter or the tree. She had really thought that her friends would come this year. So many bad things had happened this year, so she thought that having someone for the holiday season was the least she deserved. Apparently, she was wrong. It was no wonder that the Slenderman had sought her out for observance and eventual kill.

_Here, look at it now, _she heard that voice in her head once again. Ellaina really didn't care what it looked like. She wouldn't care if the thing suddenly turned into a living being and started tap-dancing to _Singing in the Rain_. She truly just didn't care, but the suddenly violent voice in her head demanding her to look at it changed her mind.

Ellaina looked to the tree to find that the glob of tinsel had been removed and had been spread evenly over the remainder of the tree. It looked rather nice. She smiled slightly, wondering how exactly Slendy had managed to decorate the tree without moving. Her thoughts were answered when he added one last strand of the shining stuff to the tree using one of the inky, black tendrils.

"You didn't have to do that," she muttered, looking away from him and the tree again. The thing would only serve as a constant reminder that she would be alone for the holiday again. When she had left home, she had known that she would be alone, but she had been okay with it for a time. But as the years passed, she began to miss waking up and opening presents with people. Not to mention, not knowing what she was going to get had become a novel idea to her. Had her friends shown up, it would have been the first time in years that she had received an unknown gift. Sure, her students would buy her things, but they were usually predictable-a gift card, a movie, a coffee mug. As she turned back to actually say something to her guest and try to come out of the downward spiral that was her thoughts, Ellaina found that he had gone.

"So, you decided to leave me to my own as well?" she asked, not knowing if he could hear her or not. She glared around the room. "Well, fine. Go off and murder Santa and ruin the holidays for some small children. Why shouldn't everyone be upset? It sure isn't the most wonderful time of the year!"

Ellaina picked up the gifts she had wrapped for her friends and threw them into the fireplace, quickly setting the thing ablaze soon after using her lighter. Realization hit her. He had returned the thing. All that was left of him on the thing was a small note:

_Don't destroy the tree. It looks nice._

Ellaina considered doing that, if only to annoy him, but decided against it. Annoying a nearly all powerful being that planned to kill you in the near future probably wasn't the best choice. So, she simply threw the lighter outside. It managed to bounce off the back end of the fence, bounce off a few tree limbs, and finally land in some dry leaves. When the lighter gave a small spark, it didn't take long for the trees to go up in flames. Ellaina didn't notice any of this, though, for she had gone to her room to try and sleep away some of the depression she was having over looking unhappily towards another Christmas spent alone.

The smell of burning trees quickly filled the air. At first, the Slenderman ignored it, thinking that perhaps his senses were going awry. But the sounds of animals fleeing the forest quickly told him otherwise. He came out of his hidden home only in time for a burning tree limb to land on him, momentarily stunning him and pinning him to the ground, burning him.

With a growl he forced the burning thing off of himself and made to get away from the flames. If only there was an escape. Everywhere he looked there were only flames. Traveling by the tree branches seemed to be the only logical choice. He went up in them, using the burned tendrils to pull him up there. The injuries had subdued his powers-he couldn't simply teleport away. When he found the idiot who had started this fire, that man would beg for death long before it would come.

Moving to another branch seemed to be a good idea, but upon landing on it, the branch snapped, sending him falling into a burning ring of fire. There was no escape as the flames grew higher.


	5. Chapter 5

_Fire. Hot, burning fire is everywhere. There is no escape from it. The flames are encircling and drawing closer. The smoke is terrible. If the flames won't kill me, the smoke inhalation surely will. And the burns that have already been sustained prevent any transporting away from this circle of death, not to mention the pain that they cause. If I could only find a tree branch to get to, I might survive. Though, I don't see one. I need help._

Ellaina awoke with a start, feeling as if she was burning. She looked around her room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but that dream had seemed far too real. And something about the view she was looking from seemed odd. The dream person hadn't been herself, but someone much taller. She tried to ignore the dream as she headed back into the family room. Through the open window she could smell something wafting in. Upon taking a close look out the window, she found that the forest was on fire. Smoke was raising high into the sky. That certainly wasn't a good sign. It was only logical that the Slenderman was in those woods. That was where he lived, right?

Slenderman, she suddenly realized. In the dream she had been Slenderman. But, was it a dream, or had he sent her a vision of him dying? Dying? He couldn't die, could he? She certainly couldn't let that happen! After calling the police to inform them about the fire, using a code to keep her call untraceable and unknown, she ran into the forest, not thinking of bringing anything. Her only thought was to somehow save the One who had become her guest over the past weeks. Had it really only been a few weeks that she had known him? It seemed like much longer.

The woman wondered her way through the forest, trying to avoid the animals that were running away from her. They were likely trying to escape the blaze. Their flight instincts had kicked in. They were smart enough to head away from the threat to their lives. So, why was Ellaina heading towards it? It would make sense for her to just go back home. The Slenderman could take care of himself, right? Still, something kept the game designer moving toward the sound of fire.

_I need help; _a voice suddenly entered her head, sounding to be in pain. Ellaina stopped and looked around her. Where could he be? The forest was so large and she didn't know it well like he did. There was no way he would be able to hear her over the roar of the fire, so she delved in deeper. She found herself met with a wall of fire after about ten minutes of running. She needed to get around it, for she needed to find Slenderman.

When he suddenly came bursting through the flames, Ellaina was quite taken aback. He fell to the ground, having somehow not completely caught on fire, but the tendrils were burned-being an ugly red in some places while they were burned black in other places. She pulled him into her arms, surprised by how light he was. She had expected him to be heavier for someone with his height.

"I'm here, Slendy," she told him as he tensed in her arms. That blank face stared up at her, as he forced himself away from her and to his feet. Even the pale, blank face had some burns.

_I told you not to touch me, Ellaina, _he stated, trying to keep up his normal persona. He slowly started walking forward, away from the safety of Ellaina's home and toward more fire. He honestly didn't know where he was going. He was only happy to be out of the circle of fire.

"This way, Slendy," she stated, grabbing his arm and leading him the right way. When he didn't protest against her touching him again, Ellaina began to worry. Not to mention, he had called her by name. He never did that. She was always _my Little One _or _Human_. Never was she _Ellaina_. With the sounds of fire trucks on the way, she forced him to hurry along. She couldn't very well allow them to be discovered. She could only imagine the field day the press would have.

They were nearly half way back to her home when Ellaina began coughing rather violently. She had been so focused on saving the Slenderman that she hadn't been thinking about the smoke that had been filling her lungs. What surprised her was Slendy ripping off a part of his suit to hand to her-as a way to filter out the smoke.

_You can't die on me, remember? I made you promise, _he stated, his words slurring. He was losing his battle against the blackness of unconsciousness. Ellaina grabbing a tight hold onto with her free hand brought him back to full awareness-well, as full as he could mange over the redness that was his pain. Why was she so willing to help him? It would have been logical for the human to allow him to die. He had told her on numerous occasions that he planned to kill her. If she had allowed him to simply burn to a crisp, she would have been free. Humans were a mystery to him.

"We're almost there. See, there's the fence," Ellaina stated. She planned to hop it, only to find herself lifted over it, a burned tendril encircling her waist while a groan of pain rang through her head. He let her take his hand again and lead him into the family room, where she sat him on the couch and quickly drew the shades. She turned the lights on, including the Christmas tree.

_Was the tree entirely necessary to turn on, Ellaina? _he questioned, his head leaning back against the back of the couch. This only caused his burned back to rub against the couch, eliciting another groan from him. This pain needed to end, and there was only one way to make it happen.

"Is there anything I can do to help you? I don't really know how your body works or how fast you heal, but there has to be something I can do," Ellaina asked, hovering about him. She was surprised to find herself pulled down to sit next to him on the couch. She looked at him with a question held in her eyes. She didn't understand this guy.

_Do you trust me, _he asked. He didn't want to ask this human for help. It was bad enough that he had already let her save him from the fire, but he would rather ask her help than be stuck with the pain that was in his body.

Ellaina looked at him for a long moment. Did she trust him? She wasn't entirely certain, but the answer was yes for the most part she did trust him. He had never done anything to make her not trust him. He could still surprise her, but he hadn't outright betrayed her trust. It was more than she could say for her so-called friends. She voiced her trust in him.

He nodded and looked away for a moment, considering how exactly to approach this. He looked back at her, deciding that being to the point was the best plan of attack. _You do not know much of the world around you, Ellaina. Or, should I say that you don't know of my world? There is a way that you can take the pain away from me, for you to heal me. _Oh how loathe he was to do this, but the alternative was to suffer in pain until the burns healed themselves.

"What is it?" Ellaina questioned, surprised when his hand lightly cupped her chin, when a tendril weakly did the same. He never touched her unless absolutely needed. He was up to something.

_This, _he replied, quickly closing the distance between them and pressing the area that should have been his lips to her own. Ellaina was shocked to say the least and quickly tried to pull away, only for him to hold her in place. _Do this for me, Ellaina, please. Show me your human kindness and heal me. It is only through this human contact that you can heal me quickly_. He could feel her tentatively do as he asked, her eyes closed tight, as if fearing that something bad would happen. _I will not hurt you, Ellaina. _

It wasn't entirely unpleasant, Ellaina realized. In fact, it felt like he did have lips to kiss her with. Soft, perfect ones to meet her own. There was some pressure from what should have been his lips on her own, but he wasn't overpowering her. He had even released his grip on her. He pulled away from her suddenly, causing Ellaina to start. She hadn't expected that. No, she had just allowed human emotion to take her and do as he had asked-give him that kindness.

He was looking away from her. _Thank you_, he muttered. Hearing Ellaina gasp upon seeing him fully healed, he had to look at her. _You Humans are so easily entertained. I hope you won't put this into that game of yours. _And with that, he was gone. Where to? Ellaina had no idea. She could only hope that he would avoid the forest. It was bound to be crawling with police and firemen. Not to mention that there could still be a fire going. She had to wonder what kind of idiot starts fires and just leaves them to burn. Ellaina could only guess.

And as she sat there, Ellaina had to wonder why exactly she had saved the Slenderman. Had she simply left him in the forest to die, the world would have been a safer place. There had just been something inside of her that had forced her to find him. Was it the dream-feeling his pain and desperate need to escape? In that dream, she had felt raw _human _emotions coming from him. She had never dealt well with people that were suffering. But, again, Slendy killed people; he caused them pain. Wouldn't have letting him perish saved lives? She didn't honestly know what had driven her to try and save him. She also didn't know why she had wanted that kiss-or healing thing-to last longer. She did know, however, that she wanted to see Slendy again.

With a defeated sigh, she went to her laptop and opened it. She had to program another note into the game. The surprise came when she found one already set and posted for the day.

_Fire. Hot, burning fire is everywhere. There is no escape from it. The flames are encircling and drawing closer. The smoke is terrible. If the flames won't kill you, the smoke inhalation surely will. Try to escape, Human, but know that the fire is not the only threat in this, my, domain. Remain vigilant and perhaps you will live. Perhaps you can save yourself before it is too late, my Little One._

The note was good, but what did the last line mean? Was it directed to her? What was he trying to warn her about? The sound of a gun was heard before all Ellaina saw was black.

A/N- Please don't hate me for leaving you with another cliff hanger. If you want the next chapter uploaded, leave me a review. Otherwise, I'll wait until tomorrow to post it. *evil laugh* Just kidding; the next chapter will likely be posted later today.


	6. Chapter 6

"Wake up!" There was a voice shouting at her to wake up. Ellaina crawled her way back to consciousness to be met with a strange man. She looked up and was met with crazed, green eyes. But he was wearing a police uniform, so Ellaina was rather confused by the way he was looking at her. He pulled out the gun and aimed it at her, shooting her in the knee. "Come on, get up you little arson!" He screamed at her, aiming the gun and shooting her again, this time in the arm.

With her screams echoing off of the walls, she thought for sure that someone would hear her. Then she came to the realization that they were not in her home. They were somewhere in the woods. No humans would be able to hear her, but a certain someone who had her under careful watch would hear her agony, she hoped.

He violently kicked her in the stomach when she still hadn't gotten to her feet. "I told you to stand up!" Kick. "Do as I say or I will kill you. Of course, I'll have you begging me to kill you long before I decide to do so." With only her glare as a response, the man decided to put that latter plan into action. It would be on this day that Ellaina would learn the true meaning of pain.

It had been two days since he had last seen her. It seemed to be appropriate to stop in for a little visit to Ellaina. The Slenderman appeared in her family room, noticing that her tree was lit. It really did look quite nice. He had even went and got her a little Christmas present for this little visit. It was the least he could do, considering that her friends weren't going to show up. It irked him for some reason that these friends of hers would just write her off so easily. If only he could get away with killing them. Though he doubted it since Ellaina still called them friend. His gift wasn't much, just a little toy SpongeBob that could shoot water, but he rationalized that it was better than nothing. He could always just give her some of the money that he got off of his victims, but money was boring. Not to mention that she had said she wanted her present to be a surprise. Didn't the humans always say that it was the thought that counts or something like that? He would need to find out what the phrase exactly was, though now he was more focused on finding the woman.

She was not in any of the rooms, she wasn't hiding in the house anywhere-he would be able to sense her. Perhaps she had just gone out to buy something? But, no. That didn't seem to be right either. It was then that he noticed the trail of blood leading out of her family room into the back yard. Whoever had dragged Ellaina away hadn't been very careful to cover his tracks, and now that person would pay the full price for bringing harm to a human he had claimed. He could only hope that whatever had taken her hadn't killed her yet. If that was the case, there would be more than just dire consequences for whoever had killed her. There would be absolutely no mercy spent on whoever had harmed Ellaina. The true monster would be killed when the woman's savior showed up.

As he quickly made his way through the forest, following the blood trail, der Ritter's rage only grew. Who would dare lay a hand against Ellaina? She hadn't done anything to anyone. He could almost taste her pain in the air. If it were any other human, he may have reveled in it, but he couldn't. He wasn't causing her pain, and she wasn't due to die until after Christmas. It was his fault that she was suffering. He should have known that something was wrong when she hadn't posted a new note on the _Slender _game. Even though it did irritate him that she would play his role, it was always good for a laugh with what she would come up with. The last post had been made by him, and according to the plays it was the most popular note yet. But why was he thinking about the game? He could see the home she was being held in, tortured in-his old home, the one she had saved him from just days ago. Whoever was harming the Little One had just added insult to injury. It was these kinds of people that were the true monsters-not him. That's what he told himself, anyway, whenever he took down these sick, twisted beings. They didn't even deserve to be called human. In just a few feet, he would be back in his old home, ready to kill whatever had dared to lay a finger on what _belonged _to him.


	7. Chapter 7

Ellaina hadn't eaten in days. The last thing she had been given was some sort of poison. She was dying a slow death, not to mention that the foul liquid heightened her pain receptors. Being hung from the ceiling with hooks dug through her hands certainly wasn't helping things. It wouldn't be too much longer before all of the flesh would be ripped clear away. It was at that moment that she managed to crunch herself up and violently swing her weight down. The hooks ripped through her remaining flesh, causing her to scream in pain. This sound only brought her tormentor back, who was carrying a cat of nine tails. Without so much as a word, he lashed it out, the ends of the whip biting into her face.

"No one can hear you scream!" the tormentor shouted, moving to bring the weapon down again. He was stopped by someone grabbing a hold of the weapon and viciously ripping it from his grip. The man turned to face the chest of a man. He looked up and up into the blank canvas that was the face of der Grossman.

_I can hear her, _came the deathly, calm voice. Having no face worked to his advantage. The shocked man openly stared at him, unknowing that the One had eyes only for the Human. Upon taking in the extent of her injuries, his blood began to boil, his hands clenched in fists of rage. How dare a simple _man _bring this amount of harm to _his Little One?_ He had every intention of destroying this man, to bring him to the point of welcoming Death, only for it to be cheated from him. This man would greatly suffer for bringing harm to the woman.

The surprise came when the man fell to his knees. "Master," he stated, bowing, his head at level with the Slenderman's shoes, not noticing how the black tendrils were now shaking with barely controlled fury. The man's green eyes looked up into the faceless void. This was what he had been looking forward to. This was the moment he had been waiting for. "I want to help you cleanse the world of scum, like her. She's arson. She started the fire a few days ago," he pointed back at Ellaina, who was only able to lie in the pool of her own blood and watch the scene in front of her. She was too weak to do anything else. Her eyes came to rest on the Slenderman. She could see his body shaking in a fit of barely checked rage. Did he actually care that this beast had harmed her? She could only hope that was the reason and not that he just wanted to kill someone.

_You are in the worst kind of manhood, _he replied, a tendril snaking out and catching the man around the neck to dangle him at eye level. _She belongs to me, you carcass fit for hounds. Do you understand what you have done? She is mine. And you HARMED HER! _The man was slammed into the wall, the other tendrils impaling the man, keeping him pinned to it. With the blink of an eye, the Slenderman was a mere inch from the man's face. More tendrils snaked out, cutting into the man's flesh, destroying anything they could touch. The skin was flayed in some places or completely removed in other places. That didn't stop the onslaught, though. Flesh was stripped away from bone and bone itself was destroyed. Blood was flowing freely, covering the man and soaking the Slenderman's shoes. That wasn't about to stop him. No, he had only just started. He would pay for harming what was not his and for daring to ask to _serve him _after the damages he had wrought. This man thought that he knew the meaning of suffering. He knew nothing.

Ellaina had managed to drag herself to sit next to her savior. She could only hope that he wouldn't kill her like this. As if reading her thoughts, he looked directly in her eyes. _Never. _His attention turned back to the man, working on destroying pressure points. That done, he suddenly pulled everything away from the man, allowing him to slide to the ground, screaming in pain. He had all of five seconds freedom before he found himself being impaled to the ground, the tendrils digging into the floor and then some. Ellaina scooted away, fear taking her. Slenderman could be so violent. Why hadn't he killed her yet? Why had he decided to give her Christmas? He said that he wasn't going to kill her like this man, but the longer she watched him, the more fearful she became and the less she was able to believe him. She continued to try and scoot away, needing to escape this room of torture. The longer she stayed and watched the brutality that the Slenderman could inflict, the more fear and terror she felt of him. All she wanted to do now was run away and never look back. Fear had completely overwhelmed her and she desperately tried to squirm her way as far as she could get from both of these beings. For the first time, she was seeing the Slenderman's true nature. He was holding to all of the descriptions from the Internet. He truly was a beast, a monster.

_You know, you don't need all of your internal organs. Why don't you make a donation to those who need them? _Slender's voice ripped into the man's mind. A tendril dug into the body, removing the gall bladder, while another tendril ripped a kidney out. Still another tendril tore a lung out of the man's body while the appendix was removed. The man never stopped screaming. He nearly passed out on a few occasions, but Slendy wouldn't allow for that. The man was going to be awake to take the entirety of his punishment for what he had done. There would be no mercy spent on this man, and he would not be finished with this tormentor until every last drop of blood was drained from him.

He paused from his ministrations to find that Ellaina was shrinking away from him, a look of utter terror in her eyes. No, she couldn't look at him like this, not like all the other humans who had ever looked upon him. She never had before looked at him in such a way. Why now? This man had harmed her, wouldn't she want retribution? _He _had never harmed her in such a way. _He _had only talked about taking her life, but never had he _tortured _her. He turned back to the man, who was whimpering and begging for his life. In a voice that only was heard by the man, der Ritter stated with his voice full of agonized pain, _You made her fear me! You made the only human to trust me fear me! _He lost all control as both his tendrils and fists ripped into the man, mauling him before finally ripping out the man's still beating heart and forcing it down his throat. Even then he continued to rip the man apart until he looked nothing like a man.

Breathing heavily and covered in the tormentor's blood, he turned to find Ellaina backed into a corner, curled into a ball muttering something. As he slowly approached her, she looked up at him, her eyes wild with fear, begging not to be killed. She shrunk back into herself when he took one more step toward her. "Go away! Don't kill me, please! Please! I don't want to-to die. Please, show some humanity. Please, don't hurt me." She loudly sobbed when he fell to his knees, a bloody hand reaching out to her. A voice in her head, _My Little One, I would never hurt you. Please, know that to be true. I came here- _Ellaina screamed in terror, using her destroyed hands to clutch at her head. "Get out of my head, you-you horrible, ungodly, monster!"

Monster. How many humans had called him that? It never bothered him before, so why did it hurt when she gave him that title? Maybe it was because she had always treated him like a human, even when he had demeaned her, acting like he was superior. This pain she was causing him was worse than the burns. And she was still hurt, still needed healing. He couldn't very well take her to a hospital, but in her current state, she likely wouldn't let him anywhere near her, let alone close enough to heal her.

_Ellaina, you know this is the only way I can speak to you, _he reasoned.

"Go away!" she cried, pain and fear in her eyes. She started hyperventilating.

_You need to breathe, _he intoned, trying to make it sound like a demand to force her to listen to him. When she only got worse, he simply took hold of her shoulders and gave her a harsh shake before simply trying to heal her. She screamed and tried fighting him off with her destroyed hands. He caught them in his own, bringing them to his face. _Remember me, my Ellaina._ _Submit to me, Ellaina. Let me heal you. Please? _Her stiff body slowly relaxed and her injuries lightened in their severity. Healing the human body was more difficult than healing his.

She slowly pulled away from him, her hands slowly slipping from his face, the complete and utter terror gone from her eyes. Ellaina sobbed and threw her arms around his shoulder, burying her face into the crook of his neck, breathing in the scent of his familiar black suit. She was finally safe. The horror was over. "Hold me," she begged. "Please, Slendy? I said such horrible things to you."

Slenderman simply picked her up, holding her tight to his body with both his arms encircling her and some of the various tendrils wrapping around her as well. _I will take you home, and I shouldn't have let you watch what I did to that man. Forgive me. _When she only pressed herself closer to him, still sobbing over the entire ordeal, and nodded into him, he took off. She needed to be home. She needed to be able to feel safe once again. She had had enough terror for this day, for her entire life, truly. It was on this day that the Slenderman realized he wouldn't be killing her after this Christmas. That would be his gift to her. The thought behind it being that he could not bring himself to see that look of terror in her eyes directed at him ever again. He never wanted her to call him monster again. It was the thought that counted when giving a gift, but Ellaina didn't need to know the thought behind this gift.


	8. Chapter 8

They came back to her home and were sitting on the couch after a twenty minute walk through the forest, in which neither said very much. Slendy had never been much of a conversationalist and Ellaina felt too weak to talk about anything. At the very least, she knew that the poison was out of her blood. When he had healed her, the poison had been eradicated. Her pain receptors were back to normal. Still, the memories of how she had reacted to him after he had killed her tormentor were clear in her mind. She knew that it had deeply hurt him for her to call him _monster_. She had seen him fall to his knees, the strong and indomitable Slenderman, and beg her to come to him, that he wouldn't harm her. And she had rejected him, acting just like any other human would. She looked up to him and found blood still on his face. Slowly, she reached up and wiped it away. He didn't move, only stayed perfectly still as she cleaned the offending liquid from him.

_You do not have to do that, Ellaina, _he muttered, not looking at her. He looked at her Christmas tree, finding that some of the ornaments were broken, laying on the floor next to a wrapped gift. It wasn't very large, but it had been intricately wrapped. A red bow was tied around the box, completing the effect of its beauty. He looked to Ellaina when she slowly stood up and went to pick up the gift. She just ignored the glass digging into her skin as she shoved it away. _You're hurting yourself, _he pointed out.

"It doesn't make much difference, seeing as they're cut in half," Ellaina answered. Her hands hadn't healed when he had helped her back at the other place. She handed him the wrapped gift, a look of pain crossing her face with the effort it took to hold up the box. "I got you something."

He set the box aside to look over the damage to her hands. Ellaina was surprised with how gentle he was being. Just a short time ago, she had seen those same hands which held hers now rip a man to shreds. How could something so deadly be this gentle? Lightly, he touched that area that should have been his lips to each of her hands, the injuries healing quickly, leaving only a couple scars. She couldn't help but gasp at this ability once again. How was he able to do this? She looked up at him as he turned his attention to the present. _Shouldn't I wait until Christmas? _

"It's an early gift," she replied. "I'll get you another present you can open and have Christmas day. I'm sure we'll have fun that day before, you know, you're done with me," she trailed off.

Setting the Santa tie aside, what a thing to get him, he looked at her fully now. _I won't be done with you this Christmas. I'll leave it up to you to decide what you want me to do. I will stay for your Christmas, and if you wish for me to leave after that, I will disappear from your life forever. If you, however, decided that you would like me to stay…I could arrange for that._

"You won't kill me?" she asked, surprised. He had been talking about how he had this planned for so long now. Could he really just change his mind so easily? It could not be that easy. There had to be some sort of catch. There had to be something that he wanted in return for allowing her to live. People always did things for a reason.

_I think that we have established that, yes,_ the reply, which sounded a bit like its old self once again. He looked her over and sighed. _You are still in pain and injured. Would you like to be healed?_ He watched her closely as she simply nodded, not looking at his face. She didn't trust him. How could he have ever expected a human to trust him? It was foolish to believe that she would ever trust him, especially now that she had seen the cruelties he was capable of. _You don't trust me, _he murmured, not really knowing if she would pick up the pain in his voice. He hoped she wouldn't.

"I trust you with my life," Ellaina replied, quickly. "It's just that after the way I treated you, I don't deserve your kindness."

_How you treated me? I left that man to torture you for days, thinking you were here safe. I should have come when you didn't post a note on that game of yours. I should not have let you watch me kill that man. It's no wonder you think me a monster. _Slendy replied, looking at the Santa tie. He removed his current tie in favor of her gift. He looked at her, trying to lighten the mood. _Merry Christmas, Little One. And what do you want for Christmas?_

Ellaina outright laughed, ignoring the pain this caused in her lungs. "Oh, Santa, when did you get into town? The good little boys and girls are going to need to tell you what they want for their presents. And how's Rudolph and the Gang? Oh, you know I'll have to put this in the game." She continued laughing, doubling over from the hilarity of the situation. She could just imagine a small child walking up to Slender Santa and boldly telling him that he is far too skinny to be Santa.

_So, I'm a comedian now? _Slendy asked, wanting to laugh along with her. Still, he really needed to heal her. Even through her laughs, her pain was still prevalent. The thoughts of healing were interrupted by Ellaina grabbing his hand and pulling him outside. "It's snowing!" was her explanation for dragging him outside so quickly. There was already plenty of snow on the ground. Somehow in the time they had arrived home to now, a good 8 inches of snow had fallen and more was on the way.

He looked at the woman who was looking to the sky with a smile on her face, the snow collecting in her hair. He had a brilliant idea. Had he the ability, the Slenderman would have smirked.

Ellaina had her back turned to the Slenderman when she felt something pelt her in the back. She turned in time for Slendy to be able to hit her with a snow ball. She gaped at him, which only left her open for yet another snowball.

_I believe the score is 3-0 favors moi, _he stated, while lobbing another snowball at her.

Ellaina dodge it and scooped up some snow of her own. She threw it at him, only for him to teleport behind her. She turned around in time for him to hit her with another snowball. She laughed and chased after him, another snowball in hand. Again she went to throw it, only for him to show up behind her once again, but she hadn't thrown the ball. Now, she did though. It landed square in his face. Now he was laughing as he wiped the snow from his face, trying to go after her again. Never had he done this. Not even in that time before-no, he would not think of that now. He successfully managed to trip and fall on top of her with his mind so preoccupied with his thoughts.

She smiled up at him, she half buried in the snow with him on top of her. "You know, if I was all healed up, we could have a lot more fun out here. We could make a snowman."

_So long as we don't name him Frosty,_ the reply, before he went about healing her broken body. The play in the snow had distracted him from the need to heal her. Oh well, it was getting done now. Ellaina lightly put her hand to his face, the coldness shocking him. He nearly pulled away, but he stopped short just to make sure she would heal fully. He did notice, however, that she did take her hand away from him upon seeing his reaction to her touch. Her hands stayed pinned to her sides now.

Even once she was healed, the two kept up the idea that she needed extra healing for about an extra minute. When he finally pulled away, the color was back in her cheeks and there was no longer pain in her eyes. He pulled her up to her feet as he stood up in one fluid motion. She still managed to lose her balance and need to use him for support. She looked up at him and smiled in a goofy sort of way before informing him it was time to make the snowman.

Well, it did get made. It was lopsided, which annoyed the Slenderman. This entertained Ellaina for a good five minutes. She purposefully picked out a crocked carrot to use as the nose. Slendy had promptly pelted her with snowballs, using the tendrils for a rapid fire assault as a result. They ended up rolling around in the snow again when Ellaina jumped him for deciding that the Snowman should be named Michael Jackson. Needless to say, by the time they came in from the day of play in the snow, both were happy to have the warmth of her home.

They now were sitting on the couch, Ellaina enjoying hot chocolate with Slendy resting his head against her shoulder. It was no longer a stressed relationship between them. Whatever they had, it was comfortable for both and neither wanted it to change. Neither knew what to talk about, and both certainly didn't want to talk about the events that had transpired recently. Any sort of conversation down that path would likely only lead to hurt feelings. So, silence was what was opted, for the most part that is.

_Ellaina, it's snowing again, _he stated while looking out the window. He could not explain why he was so incredibly comfortable with her. Never had a human held such control over him. Still, he didn't quite mind having this human around. At least she could be entertaining.

"Well, it's a bit late to go playing in the snow again," Ellaina replied, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. She hadn't offered Slendy any, and it annoyed her that she hadn't.

_Afraid of the dark, are we? _Slendy questioned, now standing up and facing her. When she simply glowered at him and stuck her tongue out, he laughed. He pulled her to her feet and pulled her outside to the night time Winter Wonderland. It didn't take her long to lob a snow ball at him, and the games began once again.

Eventually the two would end up lying in the snow, his tendrils acting as her blanket to lie upon, looking up at the stars and the full moon. The light they cast gave an eerie glow to the Slenderman's face, but it seemed to make Ellaina look somewhat ethereal. She had eyes only for the stars, and he had eyes only for her. She really was quite pretty, but why was he thinking of her like this? She was a human. He could not let himself get attached to her. They were so fragile, humans.

Ellaina sighed, turning to look at him. "What do you do when it's cold out here at night? You certainly can't be very comfortable out here all alone." She watched as he seemed to search her face for something before he looked back up to the sky. She had been explaining the different constellations to him and they seemed to fascinate him.

_I make do with what I have been given. Yes, it is cold out here on my own, but one learns to grow accustomed to the biting cold of winter when forced to deal with it for one's entire-for a long time. No more questions now, Ellaina. It's late. You need your sleep. _Had he really nearly given up a part of his past to her? No one knew his history and it would remain that way if only to keep him sane. The past was cruel and he refused to relive it.

The woman stood up and dusted the snow off from her clothing. Before her ever-present guest had the chance to leave, she took his hand and led him inside. She explained that he would be staying here in the warmth where he could be comfortable. It didn't take much to convince the Slenderman and he soon found himself nearly asleep on her couch. As the wonderful embrace of sleep took him, he could vaguely remember Ellaina curling up at the edge of the couch by his feet. Seeing as that could possibly lead him to kicking her if her were to dream, a tendril was used to pull her into his embrace. She was right; the warmth was much more comfortable and he found himself in the world of Dreams within a matter of moments.


	9. Chapter 9

Warmth was what he awoke to. That certainly was something that he was unaccustomed to, for his home was always so cold in the middle of winter. The cold never bothered him, but the warmth did feel quite nice. The problem was that he didn't know where the warmth was coming from. Upon looking about his surroundings, he found himself in Ellaina's home-on her couch. Had he fallen asleep here? This little human of his was starting to become a problem. Be it any other human, it would have been dead by now. But, no, not Ellaina. She had somehow wormed her way into his heart-well, if he had one. He could call her friend.

Friend, what an alien term that was to him. He could not remember if he had ever had a friend in his life. He wasn't if what he had with Ellaina even constituted as a friendship. He knew that he cared about the little human and that he was willing to kill for her. He had already proven that.

And, low and behold, here was the woman, snuggled up against him sound asleep. How in the name of God had this happened? He killed humans, ripped them apart sometimes just for the fun of it. Now, here he was, in a human's home with a human using him as a living pillow. He really needed to rethink what he was doing here. Maybe just killing the woman would be better; he'd have no more trouble and wouldn't be worried about her safety. But, no, he didn't worry about her, he told himself. She was just a pretty face to look at. He observed her sleeping. How many people had he observed while sleeping, while they were so vulnerable? He didn't have a count on it, but he did not like the thought of Ellaina sleeping alone any longer. He was not the only entity out there that would observe humans in their sleep.

He glanced down on her when she started trembling, her hand closing and opening against the fabric of his suit. Slenderman simply observed her in the throes of her nightmare. She was gasping now in fear. He was only suppose to observe her, he reminded himself. He couldn't intervene, but he could see what her mind was putting her through. With little effort and that excuse in mind, he was able to become an observer _in _her nightmare.

_Ellaina found herself back in that home where her tormentor had held her. She was chained to the wall, unable to move excepting her head. She could sense that someone was in the room with her and that whomever it was held a malicious intent for her._

_A person came out from the shadows, wearing a mask. It was black and covered the entirety of this man's face, only allowing a glimpse of green eyes. Ellaina knew those eyes all too well and she tried to free herself from her bindings as he slowly approached her. He held in his a boiling pot of acid, which he intended to pour all over her. He stopped just short of her to look into her fearful, blue eyes._

"_You aren't afraid are you, my Little One?" he asked. With a dark chuckle, the dream tormentor changed shape, becoming that of the Slenderman. Her eyes turned wide with fear and shock. He had promised never to harm her. "You didn't think I would let you live, did you?"_

_The Observer to this nightmare growled darkly. He would never harm her. _

Back in the real world, Slender looked at the woman who was now screaming in her sleep, desperately trying to fight off some unseen foe. He sat up, pulling her up with him. He began to shake her shoulders, trying to wake her. He would not have her dreaming up nightmares about him. He was not a monster. _I am not a monster, _he growled over and over again as he tried to wake her. He couldn't hear her call him that again. She needed to wake up.

_The acid was burning away her skin and her flesh. How terrible it felt and the One she thought was her friend only continued the torment. He laughed as she begged him to stop. The tendrils suddenly were coming at her, about to deliver the death blow when a voice came into her head, _Wake up!

Ellaina gasped, her eyes opening wide only to find herself face to face with him again. She cried out, "Stay away from me, you foul monster," and tried to pull away from him, only managing to fall on the ground in front of the couch. She desperately tried to shrink away from the One sitting on her couch, who seemed not to know what to do. He was unmoving as she continued to stare at him with a burning terror. Breathing hysterically, she looked over her person. The pain was gone. There were no burns. There was…nothing. It had all been a dream, one that he had awoken her from. He had stopped her terror and she had repaid him by calling him a monster again. As realization came to her, she looked up at the man dressed in black suit and Christmas tie. The small gift she had given to him was torn away from his person and shredded by his tendrils. What was left of the fabric was thrown before her.

_I'll leave you then, _he stated, disappearing from her room before he had the chance to do something that he would greatly regret. He hadn't done anything but wake her from a nightmare, and she had called him monster again. He had given his word that he wouldn't harm her. She should have believed him. As he made his way through the forest, he found a camper. This man would suffer the full extent of his anger. Maybe afterward he would go back to the _human _and tell her off. She was nothing to him now. So, why did it still hurt so badly to think about her looking at him with that primal fear again? The camper's screams proved to be a useful distraction against this thought. All thoughts left his mind as he became what Ellaina-the _human_, he reminded himself-called him. The monster would spill the blood of the innocent and never look back. If it could only be that easy with the human, she would already be dead.


	10. Chapter 10

_You call me monster among other things. Is that what you really think of me? Have you never considered that I may be something else? Yet, if monster is what you want me to be, fine. I'll meet your description of me. Turn around Human and face your monster._

The note had randomly appeared on her laptop when Ellaina went to update the game with a new one. She didn't understand it. No one had touched the laptop and Slenderman was away from her, somewhere in the forest. He hadn't had any form of contact with her since the nightmare incident. She was more surprised when the note posted itself to be game. She hadn't clicked the submit button. She hadn't so much as touched her laptop. Rereading the note, it was only then that the meaning of it hit her. With some trepidation, she slowly turned around to find _him _standing there. Before she could say so much as a word, a black tendril wrapped around her throat and pulled her into the air, at his eye level. He didn't say a word.

Ellaina struggled against the vice that was around her neck. She quickly came to realize that it was utterly fruitless. He wasn't about to let go, and the grip seemed to only tighten. Now she would pay for her actions. The blank canvass of a face seemed to be staring into her soul, which made her squirm all the more in his grip. More tendrils came out to wrap around her waist, the one around her neck slipping away. She was pulled close to him.

_Human, _he greeted with any of his former amounts of kindness devoid from his voice.

She was apprehensive now. He was still quite upset with her, that much was obvious. Shoring up her courage, Ellaina replied, "Hello, Slendy." She had perhaps expected him to retort something, but when he slapped her, she was shocked. He had never raised a hand to her before.

_You do not address me in such a casual way, _he ordered, throwing her to the floor. It was if he were throwing her away, like she was trash. He looked down on her, trying to keep up this persona that he was a monster and nothing more. There were tears in her eyes and he could see that the fall had caused her harm. Her arm had knocked into the coffee table and bruised her. _Oh, are you hurt, you pathetic child? Do you want your Slendy to heal you? Would you like the monster to help you? I wouldn't want you hurt, Human. _His voice was filled with malice and anger. Killing the camper in the woods had provided a small distraction, but his thoughts had quickly returned to this human before him. He would not allow her to have such control over him. If it meant killing her to be free of the pain she could cause him, so be it.

Ellaina tried to steady her breathing as she stood. She slowly came to stand in front of him, not caring any longer what he might do to her as her hand came across his face in a loud slap. The action had been done out of anger and it surprised her just as much as or more so than the Slenderman.

That action had been a mistake. Blind rage came to him and she was suddenly pinned to a wall beside the Christmas tree. More tendrils came out to destroy the decoration. He glared at her and found his hand coming across her face again, his fingers clawing across her face. Looking on her and seeing the fear coming into her eyes again, realization seemed to come to him. His anger dissolved; the rage left him. What was he doing? _What was he doing?! _How could he have let his anger blinded him so? He had only come here to tell her off. He didn't know how things had progressed to the point where he was harming her, ready to kill the woman. Her pleading eyes stared at him, her face bloodied and her body pinned roughly against the wall. He let her go, turning away from her for he was unable to look upon her any longer. _What have I done? _Slendy asked no one in particular.

He was surprised to find her coming to him, a hand lightly touching his shoulder to turn him to face her. There was nothing in her eyes now, just blankness. This disturbed him more than her fear. Her eyes were always so expressive. They always displayed her emotions so very clearly. It was a quality he liked about her. But, shouldn't they be showing anger or something? She simply stated, "Heal me, der Ritter and get out of my home. You said that it was my choice concerning my relationship to you. I never want to see you again."

_I told you I would be staying for Christmas, _he argued. When she didn't say anything and only continued to stare at him with no emotion, he sighed. She had decided the option that he had least wanted. He had tried to convince himself that he didn't need her, but that had failed. Why had he lost control? Why had he decided to act like a monster? Perhaps she was right. Perhaps all of the humans were right. Maybe he was just a monster. _I will do as you ask, my Little One. _

Ellaina only nodded. She let him heal her, feeling him tremble ever so slightly with some unknown emotion as he did so. She wondered how things had gone so badly. Just a few days ago they had been acting like friends, playing in the snow. They had saved one another and healed one another. Now, she was turning him away for one thing he had done against her. And she deserved his anger after what she had called him. Tears were streaming down her cheeks by the time he had finished the process. She couldn't hate this being, not with the way he seemed to be searching her face for some sort of clue as to her emotions.

_What is wrong? _Slendy asked, daring a raise a hand to wipe away her tears. He expected her to slap his hand away, or to recoil from his touch. He was therefore surprised to find her suddenly hugging him, with her face buried into his chest. She was asking _him _to forgive _her _for hurting him, for calling him a monster.

_I do not understand you, _he muttered, lightly pushing her away. He looked her over, scars now covering her face. They would serve as a constant reminder to what he had done. Why did he ever even get involved with this human? He should have just killed her when they first met. He considered himself a fool.

Ellaina sighed, "I don't know. And, you don't need to leave, if you don't want to. I was speaking out of anger. You are welcome in my home." She turned and looked at the ruins that were her tree. All the work she had put into it was destroyed. The lights were shattered, the glass ornaments were just shards of glass, and the tinsel was shredded. So much for having a nice Christmas, she thought. The human slowly made her way to the ruins and pulled out a wrapped gift that had a large red bow on top of it. "Here, Merry Christmas." She offered the box to him.

_It isn't Christmas yet, _he replied when he took the box from her. Then he realized that it was actually Christmas, for midnight had passed some time ago. He had come and attacked her on the holiday and now she was giving him a gift. He didn't deserve her kindness. _I don't deserve this._

Ellaina just rolled her eyes. She hated drama; it was why she had always been glad that she worked in a college. At the very least, the students kept the drama to themselves. This winter break had been nothing but drama since the Slenderman had shown up. Still, at the very least this had been an entertaining holiday season. She was about to comment as much when a terrible pain ripped through her stomach. She doubled over in pain. This pain, this was what she had felt as a result of the poison that the tormentor had given her. Hadn't it been removed from her blood? Slendy had healed her on a few occasions, but the pain simply started spreading through her entire body.

She could barely make out Slenderman's voice in her head, demanding to know what was wrong with her, all thoughts of his gift forgotten. Ellaina vaguely could make out the feel of the couch under her. All she could see was red and all she could feel was blistering pain. Darkness was clouding her vision. Was this what death was like, a warm Darkness willing to embrace her in internal sleep? If so, she didn't think of it as being so bad. It was rather soothing.

_Ellaina, answer me, _he tried calling into her mind again. He could sense her mind slowly slipping away, her life force leaving her. Why was she dying and in such pain? He had healed her of her injuries. He hadn't caused enough damage to kill her. He tried healing her again which only brought her back to full awareness and didn't stop her cries of pain. He could not lose her now. He cared too much for her. She couldn't die. _What's wrong with you? Let me help you. _He could hear the desperation in his voice quite clearly, but it made little difference. There had to be something he could do.

This time she could hear him; she could hear the desperation in his voice. Ellaina forced a small smile onto her lips. There was nothing he could do but end her pain by ending her life. She reached up and lightly brushed his face. "The tormentor," she said, struggling with her words, "he…poisoned me before you saved…me. It is…killing me. You can't get…it out of…my bloodstream. Please, Slendy, it hurts so…badly. Do…do what you said…you would originally…to me. Kill me…and end this suffering."

No, he thought. No, you can't leave me. Who will I have then? There will be no one I can call friend or companion. The Slenderman searched her face, looking for some clue that she was lying. She couldn't really want this, but her eyes told the truth. They were filled with pain and a pleading need to be relieved of that pain. Slowly, he sat next to her, pulling her to his chest. She whimpered when she first felt the tendrils encircling her. Could he really do what she asked? It had been what he had planned from the beginning. But, the very thought of her lying dead in his arms was painful to his heart.

_Shh, my Little One, _he whispered into her mind, leaning his head atop hers. She was so small and fragile. It would not take much to end her. That didn't make the very thought of it any easier. _Your pain will be over soon. I will make this quick, I promise. _Oh, he did not want to do this. She was his friend; he cared for her. The thought of living without her was painful. Who would he have to bother then? Who would look upon him and smile? If she were to leave this world, he would be alone once again. And it was then that he realized why this human had been able to hold such control over him. It was all so clear now in these finally moments before she would leave him forever. _I…I love you, Little Ellaina._

Ellaina only took a hold of one of his hands and pressed a light kiss to it. "Slendy, you need better…than me. Promise me…promise you won't be upset…once I'm gone. But, I…love you too, Slenderman. Now please…kill me."

He held her tighter to him. He couldn't do this, but he would always do what she wanted, what she requested. Slowly, he replied, _I promise. _With that, the tendrils entered her body to strike the heart and instantly kill her. He broke his promise as what might have been a sob escaped him...

A/N- Don't hate me too much guys. There is one more chapter which will make you happy. Drop me a review and it will get posted. :D


	11. Chapter 11

_Leave me alone, Humans. I am in no mood to play now. Collect the notes and leave me. I will not disturb you. Just leave me to myself. There are no notes in the house._

It was a simple note and the players of the game did not understand why the computer enemy that was Slenderman would let them collect the notes so easily. They would play through, thinking perhaps Slendy had lied. He hadn't. The players would only meet death if they entered the home. And their deaths were quite violent if they did choose to venture into his living place.

Slenderman didn't know why he was keeping up Ellaina's game. Hadn't he originally found her because of this game in addition to her past? Shouldn't he be glad that she was gone and that the game would die off? The answer was simple: he was miserable. He should have known not to get too close to a human. They were so fragile. Now, he only went through the motions each day, not truly caring what he did or who he killed. Nothing was able to bring him out of the depression he had sunk into. Even in death Ellaina held control over him. And her gift to him had only caused him more pain once he had opened it. That memory plagued him on a daily basis.

_She was so cold in his arms. She was colder than even he. Death had taken her to His world. Perhaps if there was a Heaven she was now there, not in pain and happy. She would look perfect as an angel, dressed in all white._

_The present with the red bow took his attention when he forced himself to look away from her corpse. The least he could do was open the gift. She had bought it for him. No one had ever done such a thing for him. She certainly wasn't the normal type of human. Any other human would have run screaming when it first saw him and would have met their death. Ellaina hadn't. She had befriended him and had even said that she loved him._

_The bow now removed, he opened the lid of the box. There was another box inside. He pulled it out to open it and find another box. The process continued until he came to a small box, about the size of a shoe box. She had only included so many boxes because she knew that it would annoy him. He laughed slightly, trying to ignore the pang of pain thinking about her caused. Upon opening the small box, he found that she had knitted him a black scarf and blanket. He had complained to her once about how cold his home could be, so she had created something that would keep him warm. She had cared for him enough to take the time to make something for him. It was one small jewelry box that caught his attention now though. He opened it to find a watch inside. On the inside of the watch, a message had been engraved. It said: To the man I've come to love. Merry Christmas, friend. Always, your Little One. _

The scarf, blanket, and watch were now back home in a secured location that no inquisitive camper could get into. Those items were the only thing he had left of Ellaina, so he certainly intended to keep them safe. She had been buried by her family, somewhere out of state, and he refused to visit her grave. Spirits didn't tend to like him.

He slowly made his way through the woods, looking for something that could distract him from thoughts of the human he had killed unwillingly by her request. A short woman, dressed in all black was wondering through the woods. Slender usually wouldn't think a thing of some woman lost and alone. He would normally just kill the human and be on his way. It was what the woman was shouting that caught his attention and stopped him midway from killing her.

"Ellaina! Ellaina! I know you aren't dead! Come out of hiding, please! The corpse in the coffin couldn't be you! You can't be dead," the woman yelled out into the woods.

There was no way she could be alive. He had killed her himself. So, why did it seem like there was the slightest possibility that it could be true? Somewhere deep inside of himself, some power beyond even his understanding, something whispered that it was true. Ellaina was alive somewhere.

The Slenderman showed himself to this new woman. She screamed and tried to run away, only to be caught by the black tendrils and dragged back to him to be held up to his superior height. Fear coated her eyes and she trembled as he looked at her. He had no intention of killing her just yet. She could perhaps help lead him to Ellaina. Head cocked to the side slightly, if only to scare the woman, he stated in a very calm voice. _You knew her?_

A/N- To be continued…if you want me to. I have the second part of this more or less written. If you want it posted, just let me know.


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